Tom Arnold
There are approximately 32 people named Tom Arnold living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 10,711,073 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Tom with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Arnold. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
32
1 in 10,711,073
Named Tom
73K
Alive today
Named Arnold
152K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 73K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1959
Average age: 67
Top Census group: White (83.6%)
Estimated bearers: 152K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #214
Per 100K: 44.22
Top ancestry: White (78.3%)
First name trend
Tom: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Tom. The peak year was 1959 with 5,080 births. The average person named Tom today is 67 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tom
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Tom, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 83.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tom described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Tom at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White83.6% · 98,994
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.7% · 7,929
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4,414
- Black or African American3.4% · 3,971
- Two or more races1.8% · 2,123
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 928
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Arnold surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Arnold, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 78.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Arnold described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Arnold at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White78.3% · 103,468
- Black or African American13.0% · 17,167
- Two or more races4.1% · 5,440
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4,455
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 923
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 707
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Tom has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0214% of the US population, based on 73,314 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Tom right now.
The surname Arnold appears at a rate of 44.22 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0442%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 32 people with the full name Tom Arnold. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Tom
Related
Other people with the surname Arnold
FAQ
Tom Arnold: questions and answers
How many people are named Tom Arnold?
We estimate approximately 32 people in the United States share the full name Tom Arnold. That works out to about 1 in 10,711,073 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0214%) with the surname frequency (44.22 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Tom Arnold?
We classify Tom Arnold as "Very Rare". About 1 in 10,711,073 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Tom a male or female name?
Tom is predominantly male. Out of 140,303 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Tom profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people have the full name Tom Arnold?
If you just want to know how many people are called Tom Arnold, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.